A Mother's Love
by Tressa
Summary: Duo on a bench again. Memories of his past at the Maxwell Church.


Title: A Mother's Love  
Author: Tressa  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: references to Episode Zero  
Summery: Duo, on a park bench again. This time, contemplating his past, especially his lack of a  
mother in his life.  
Authors note: Hope you like it. I wrote it on a whim, so it isn't very good. I enjoyed writing it  
though. Enjoy!  
  
  
Duo Maxwell drew his hat down over his eyes and pulled his jacket close as a couple of soldiers  
walked past him, probably on crowd control duty. He didn't understand how people could allow  
themselves be controlled by such . . . idiots, to be kind. He wished he didn't have to worry about  
things of this nature. He wished that his only concern was school projects or such.   
  
Silently walking down the busy street, he made his way to the park. A relatively calm and quiet  
place, it was ideal for thinking and working out internal problems. He discreetly passed a couple  
of soldiers, then found himself sitting down on the one of the many benches on the path. It was  
warm, but he couldn't risk getting caught, so he kept his jacket on, all the while hiding his  
infamous three foot braid. He glanced up to see a playground across the way, children running  
around, sliding down slides, playing with out a care in the world.  
  
"Don't even think of it, Maxwell," he told himself with a chuckle. "There's not point in making  
yourself depressed." But he continued to watch the younger generation (he considered himself  
old, despite being a teenager). He envied them, which was hard for him to admit. He watched as  
older woman flocked to one area to converse. Every once in a while, a child would run to their  
mother, crying, begging, or just giving her a hug.  
  
Duo grimaced. Most of all, he envied the fact they had mothers. A female figure to care for  
them. Someone to complete the hole that would otherwise be in their hearts. He reached up  
subconsciously and gently rubbed the clerical collar he wore between his pointer finger and  
thumb, then slowly removed the crucifix he wore under his shirt. Okay, so he didn't have a  
mother. But that didn't mean that he didn't have someone that was like a mother to him. Taking  
a glimpse around to make sure there were no soldiers, he removed his jacket and rolled it up into  
a ball. Lying on the bench, with his head propped up on the makeshift pillow, he pulled his cap  
lower and fell asleep. And like always, he began to dream. But these dreams weren't the usual  
nightmares. They were memories of his life at the Maxwell Church. More specifically, Sister  
Helen. The nun who cared for him, made him feel as though he had the mother he never had.   
  
*  
  
"Duo, please don't run in the church."  
  
"But Sister Helen," a young Duo looked heart broken at the pretty nun. "I want play!"  
  
Sister Helen ushered him outside the big church doors and onto the front lawn. "Play out  
here, dear."  
  
Duo watched as she headed back into the church before picking up a beat up old play  
shuttle and running around the lawn. He liked to pretend he was a soldier, fighting for his colony.   
And he knew he'd win. Because everyone he had met before had died. He paused and set the  
shuttle on the ground. Sister Helen and Father Maxwell had mentioned something about God.   
He didn't believe in God, but now he was starting to doubt his own beliefs. The Father and the  
Sister were still alive. He wanted to believe, but it was so hard. Especially for a seven year old  
who knew nothing but death. Shrugging, not realizing that it wasn't normal for little boys to be  
thinking such thoughts, he picked up the shuttle and began playing again.  
  
Running around, he pretended he was in space. He played for a while when two voices  
interrupted his play. Ducking behind a bush, he watched as an older woman and a young  
boy came walking down the sidewalk.  
  
"Mama! Thank you for the ice cream!"  
  
Duo's eyes narrowed at the word mama.  
  
"I know ice cream is hard to get here, but I figured that you deserved one."  
  
Duo's eyes went from the mother and the son to the ice cream cone in the young boy's  
hands. There was never ice cream in the church. They rarely had sweets, ice cream was unheard  
of.  
  
"Hold still, Colin," the mother said, wiping his face. "You're getting it everywhere."  
  
Duo's glare softened as he watched the interaction between mother and son and a tear  
slipped down his cheek. The next thing he knew, he was sitting on the ground, his dark  
clothes piled around him, bawling. The woman had apparently heard his crying, came  
over and knelt down beside him.  
  
"Oh my goodness, honey, where's your mother?"  
  
At the word mother, he began to cry even louder. Finally, his crying was loud enough to  
attract Sister Helen and bring her out. She came running out of the church and knelt  
down on the ground, obviously not caring that her habit was getting dirty.   
  
"Duo, dear," she said, cradling him close. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I don't know what happened," the woman managed. "He just started crying."  
  
"She said mama!" he wailed. "Sister Helen, she said mama!"  
  
He could hear her whispering words of comfort in his ear, but even he could hear some  
confusion in her voice. He wished people wouldn't treat him like he was a typical little boy.   
'Cause he wasn't. She then started rocking him back and forth.  
  
"I'm sorry," he heard her say. "He's just a little sensitive about that topic, although I've  
never seen him become so emotional about it." He buried his face in her long robes, then  
tried to climb onto her lap.   
  
"What happened to his mother?" the woman asked. "If you don't mind me asking."  
  
He felt the sister's shoulders move in what was probably a shrug. "No one knows. He was  
an orphan when he was brought to the church. I don't even think the name he has is his  
real name."  
  
"Oh my." Duo finally turned around to look at her. He wondered what his mother looked  
like. Maybe she looked like this lady. She probably had brown hair like his and blue eyes  
like him. He shook his head to clear his thought. He wiped his nose on his sleeve, knowing  
that he was probably going to get in trouble for it later.  
  
"I'm Shinigami," he said quietly. "That's why my mommy's not here."  
  
"Duo!" He winced at Sister Helen's harsh voice. "What did we say about that?!"  
  
"But Sister Helen . . ."  
  
"No buts." She sighed.  
  
He tried to squirm out of her grasp, but she wouldn't let go. After a couple of more tries,  
he was finally let go. The boy who had been with the woman stared at him.  
  
"You don't have a mommy?" he asked.  
  
Duo shook his head. He was embarrassed that he had broken down like that and tried to  
cover it up by grinning at the boy. "Nope. But I got Sister Helen and I got me."  
  
"What about a daddy? Who takes care of you?"  
  
"Nope. But I got Father Maxwell and I got me. So now I don't have to steal."  
  
The boy blinked. "Steal? What did you steal?"  
  
"Food and medicine and other supplies. I lived on the streets with other kids."  
  
"Where are the other kids?"  
  
"Some got adopted. A lot of them died. And then there's me. I live here at the church."  
  
The boy and Duo talked some more and he discovered the boy's name was Colin Bartek  
before the woman announced that it was time for them to go back home. The boy waved  
bye and then they both disappeared down the path. Duo watched them go before turning  
to the sister.  
  
"Sister Helen? Are you like my mommy?"  
  
She smiled and stood up. "If you want me to be, I can."  
  
Forgetting his past for a split second, he hugged her long and hard, until she had to leave to  
help prepare for a special evening mass. Tugging on his braid, he picked up the toy shuttle  
and followed her back inside the church.  
  
*  
  
Duo yawned and decided it was finally time to wake up. He pulled his hat up and moved to sit up  
when he found himself face to face with the barrel of an automatic. He swallowed and looked up  
to see a group of soldiers standing in front of him, all smiling like they had just captured their first  
kill.  
  
"Gundam 02," one said, laughing. "I can't believe that we actually got you here. You know, we  
hear these stories about you pilots. Difficult to catch, difficult to fight. Ruthless warriors who  
have no care for the human factor. The perfect soldiers."  
  
Duo sniffed and flashed him his trademark grin. "Hey! Don't insult me by comparing me to 01.   
And look who's talking about the human factor. Guys, can we work this out?"   
  
The soldiers obviously didn't expect that answer. Slipping off the bench, he removed his gun that  
was tucked underneath his jacket and aimed it at the soldiers, wavering the barrel between them,  
not bothering to hold back his laughter. He glanced at each of the them and noticed that one of  
them seemed especially young. He pointed the gun young soldier to get their attention. "You,  
kid, what's your name?"  
  
The kid swallowed and pointed at himself. "You mean me?"  
  
"Yeah." Dup noticed that he looked about the same age he was. He knew that there were  
soldiers that were as young as he and the rest of the pilots, but it wasn't until he met one  
that he did actually believe it.  
  
"Um, Colin. Colin Bartek." Duo tried not to appear surprised. He made a point not to show his  
braid, fearing that he would recognize him. It was the boy from the church. What the heck was  
he doing here?  
  
"Alright." Duo pointed the gun away from him. "Listen. The rule here is that anyone who sees a  
Gundam pilot is not supposed to live to tell about it. But I'm deciding to be a nice guy here and .  
. ." He stopped as bullets hit the wood in front of him. Reactions kicking in, his right hand shot  
up and his pointer finger gently squeezed the trigger. He watched as the soldier with the  
automatic inhaled sharply, the weapon falling from his hand. He coughed twice, both times  
spitting up blood. Then, his body fell like a sack of flour.  
  
"Example number one," he said. "Now, unless you want to end up like your friend here, I suggest  
you pretend you never saw this or me or . . . shoot!" Another round of bullets littered his feet.   
Grabbing his jacket, he jumped over the bench and ducked behind a potted tree. The air was filled  
with the ammunition. He could hear people screaming and Duo cursed. He hadn't expected this  
when he had come to the park. And even if he did, he didn't want civilians to become involved.   
As soon as there was a clear space, he popped up from behind the planter and left off his own  
round. There was a scream and then the shooting stopped. Cautiously, he approached the  
soldiers to see every single one of them a bloody mess. Except one. He was hit in the arm and  
was sitting on the ground, attempting to stop the blood flow.   
  
"Hey, Colin Bartek." The boy looked up at him, his eyes wide. Duo realized what he was  
thinking. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you."  
  
"What do you want with me!" he cried.  
  
"I want to tell you to get out while you can. Don't bother with this, it's only going to get you  
killed."  
  
Colin laughed nervously. "You sound like my mother."  
  
"Yeah, well, that's something I've never been compared to before. And it's not like I've ever had  
anyone that I could be compared to either." He swallowed. "Normally, I wouldn't leave like this.   
It's bad for security. But I'm going to be lenient and allow you to live." He stood up to leave.  
  
"Wait! What am I supposed to tell my superiors? They're going to ask."  
  
He stopped. "First off, kid, you're going to tell them that you want out. This is no life for  
someone of your age. And then you going to tell them that you were taken down by Shinigami.   
Your superiors will know who you're talking about." Putting his jacket back in, he slipped the  
gun back into his jacket and took two more steps before something else Colin said stopped him.  
  
"Duo!"   
  
Turning around, he glared at the boy. "Watch what you say."  
  
"I know it's you. You said you were Shinigami. When my mother and I met you at the Maxwell  
Church."  
  
Duo closed his eyes. That memory had just left him, why bring back? "Yeah, well, that was then.   
We obviously ended up differently, now didn't we. I guess that's what happens when you're a  
mama's boy."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You had a mom and I'm guessing a dad. You probably went to school, then afterwards applied  
for the military. You're probably some genius boy, which is why you're here. Either that, or  
they're allowing high schoolers to throw their lives away."  
  
"Why didn't you end up here with me?" Colin asked.  
  
"Because I didn't have the same upbringing, which was probably for the best."  
  
"The nun?"  
  
"Dead. The same as the Father. Listen, leave now, if you value you life. I'm living my life the  
way I want to. This is the best for me. But like I said, I'm still the God of Death. Leave. Now."   
He heard some shuffling, then footsteps running off. He glanced over his shoulder to see Colin  
leaving. Yes, he had been a bit harsh. But the kid needed it to be pounded into his head. People  
who didn't need to fight had no business fighting. Pulling his hat on more comfortably, he headed  
in the opposite direction. Colin was a mama's boy, and you had to have a mother to be one.   
Whistling, he exited the park. Like he said, maybe it was for the best. 


End file.
